


One Big Happy(?) Family

by yuki_onna_sicarius



Series: One Big Happy Family [1]
Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: F/M, Family Dynamics, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, the AI are kids because reasons
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-07-22
Packaged: 2019-03-18 05:54:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 19,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13675602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuki_onna_sicarius/pseuds/yuki_onna_sicarius
Summary: With the exception of Leonard and Tex, no one expected to have kids. So of course, pretty much everyone gets a kid.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so in order to make this work, some of the family stuff is a bit different from canon (that's putting it nicely), so here's how it goes  
> The Director/Leonard L. Church is the father of Leonard Church, the first Church we met in the show before it was revealed he was an AI and all that crap. His father named him after himself, as some dads do. He's married to Tex. Their kids are Alpha, Beta, and Omega (Omega hasn't been born yet). Church and Carolina are siblings.  
> Junior is the same age as Alpha and a year older than Beta.  
> The Greek number "aesthetic" was started by Church and Tex.  
> The state names are their actual names, so Washington, Texas, Florida, etc, are the actual names of the characters instead of code names because it amuses me.

There was a soft knock on the door. Tucker blinked his eyes open, lifting his head to listen for the noise again, unsure if it was a dream or not. Wash tilted his head toward the door and made a soft grunting noise, unable to form proper words. Tucker rubbed his eyes and turned on the lamp next to his bed.

"Junior?" he called, pushing himself off the bed. Ever so slowly, he walked over to the door, pulling it open to see his son pouting at him. "'Sup kiddo?" he asked, rubbing his eyes again. "Something wrong?"

"I can't sleep," Junior complained. Tucker looked at the clock, which said that it was midnight, then looked back at Wash, who patted the bed lightly.

"Alright," Tucker said softly, "I know you're worried about school, so you can sleep with us tonight. But only tonight." He rushed out the last part when he saw how excited Junior looked. The boy nodded and crawled onto the bed, aided by his father, and snuggled up with Wash, who was barely still awake. Tucker crawled back under the sheets, mouthing a 'sorry' to Wash, who shrugged and shook his head. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to his son's cheek, running his fingers through the boy's hair soothingly, before he kissed Wash and turned off the lamp.

A few doors down, Tex cradled a sobbing Beta in her arms, trying to calm her down. Church groaned and rubbed his face, sitting up to look at his daughter. "What's wrong, Beta?" he asked her.

"My head hurts," she cried, "and my tummy!"

"She's got a fever," Tex explained, rubbing the girl's back. "She isn't feeling well."

"Give her some meds and send her to bed," Church complained, laying back down.

"We don't have anything to give her," Tex snapped. "It's too high a dosage, she'll get even more sick."

Church groaned again and looked over at the girl, whose sobs had died a little as fatigue began to take over. "You shouldn't be coddling her so much, you're pregnant," he pointed out. "It won't be good if you catch something as well."

"Well what the hell do you propose we do?" Tex snapped at him. "She's sick and won't sleep."

Unhappily, Church pushed himself off the bed into a standing position, holding his arms out for his daughter. "Come on," he commanded, so she walked into his arms. He took her into the bathroom, where he pressed a damp cloth to her forehead, fanning her off when he pulled it away. "Alright, Beta, you're sick, that much is clear," he sighed, "and the only way you're gonna get over it is to sleep."

"But I can't!" she pouted.

"Do you want me to stay with you tonight?"

She thought for a minute, her bottom lip jutted out in her adorable little pout, before she nodded. He nodded back at her and picked her up, walking sluggishly to her room. They were going to have to move her into Alpha's room eventually, to make room for the baby, but for now, it was hers. Once he was inside, he collapsed heavily on the bed, exhausted from the long day of work and ready to go back to bed. It seemed Beta agreed, as she was asleep by the time she was laid back down on the bed.

Everything was still then. Nothing disturbed the night air, the neighborhood quiet as everyone slept. Everything was calm for several hours, until Church's phone went off, scaring Tex into consciousness again.

"This better be good, Carolina," Tex hissed as she answered.

"What do contractions feel like?" 

Tex looked at the clock, which read six AM, which wasn't much sooner than she had to be up anyway, so she pulled back the sheets and went to find something comfortable to wear. "Have you been keeping track of how much time is between them?" she asked.

"About ten minutes, I think," Carolina replied.

"Good, that's not too close," Tex replied softly. "Get your things ready, I'm heading over with Church. I'll drop the kids off with someone and head over, okay?"

"Okay."

"Make sure everything you need is in your bag when we get there. Keep an eye on the clock and let me know if they get any closer."

"Okay." There was something about Carolina's voice, the fear in it, that worried Tex. It shouldn't have, it was normal for first time mothers to be scared during labor for the first time, but it didn't feel right for Carolina. She was never scared.

It was probably the fact that she was having twins, or the fact that her baby daddy had left her suddenly to figure this shit out on her own, or a mix of both. Everyone loved that asshole, but Tex had always hated him, and her gut was never wrong.

Tex sighed loudly as she pressed the call button on her phone, knowing that she would regret the decision, but she didn't know who else to call. "Hey, bitch," Tucker answered.

"Asshole," Tex snapped back.

"There better be a good reason for calling at six in the morning. I've gotta get Junior ready for school."

"That's what I'm calling about," Tex explained. "I really hate the thought of missing Alpha's first day of school, but Carolina's having contractions and I'm heading over to check on her. Can you take him?"

"What about Beta?"

Tex ran a hand through her hair. "Crap, I forgot she's not feeling good, the daycare won't take her."

"Well, shit, Tex, I can't stay with her."

Tex was about to retort when she heard a commotion on the other end of the phone, which made her snap her mouth shut. 

"Just give me the phone!" she heard Wash snap and couldn't help but chuckle to herself. "Hey, Tex, I heard you need a babysitter."

Tex could only picture Wash holding Tucker back with one arm while talking to her on the phone. The advantage to having long limbs. It was an amusing image, but she didn't dawdle on it, she had other things to focus on.

"Do you mind?" she asked. "I can pay you."

"I'll take no less than ten bucks an hour."

"Jesus, Wash, you're expensive."

"Gotta make back the money I'm losing somehow."

Tex rolled her eyes and agreed to the payment, mumbling about how Church was going to be pissed. After hanging up, she went to Alpha's room to find him already awake and rummaging through his dresser, attempting to dress himself. His shirt was on backwards and he was struggling to put on his pants. "Mommy, I can't button them!" he cried out, huffing in irritation. Tex chuckled and walked over to help him.

"Remember, Al, the picture goes on the front," Tex said as she fixed the shirt as well. "Uncle Wash and Uncle Tucker are taking you to school today, alright? Me and Daddy have to go help Auntie Carolina, she's in a lot of pain right now."

"You aren't going to take me?" Alpha asked, his bottom lip jutting out in a pout.

"I'm sorry, buddy, but I can't," Tex replied. "I promise I'll make it up to you, though. We can have your favorite dinner tonight." Alpha's face lit up and he jumped around while cheering loudly. "Now, come on, shoes! We have to leave soon!"

By the time Tex had finished getting Alpha ready, Church was up and dressed, Beta resting in his arms. "How's she doing?" Tex asked.

"She's better," he replied, "but still has a fever."

"I'm dropping the kids off with Wash and Tucker, then we have to head over to Carolina's," Tex explained in a rush as she bagged her son a lunch and grabbed his backpack.

"What's wrong with Carolina?" Church asked, already pulling Beta's jacket over her arms. She whined and tried to shake it off, but Church was firm, lightly scolding her about keeping it on.

"Contractions," Tex replied, ushering Alpha out the door. "I figured we'll grab her something to eat on the way over. I texted her and asked what she wants. She said a burrito, but I convinced her not to go for that. I figure we can grab a fruit salad and some crackers, let her decide what she wants."

"Alright," Church replied, "but why am I going with you? I can drop the kids off."

"You're her brother, and she doesn't want to deal with your dad. You know how he feels about her pregnancy."

"Right."

Leonard L. Church Sr. was not happy about his daughter getting pregnant. After she told him, he demanded she get married to her baby daddy, which she refused. It was a good move, but the youngest Church sibling had yet to tell her father about her now ex leaving her.

Wash and Tucker were waiting outside when the other couple arrived. Junior was climbing into the car when they arrived and turned to wave at them jovially before his father snapped his fingers and he crawled into his booster seat. Church handed over Beta to Wash while Tex put the other seat into the car and helped Alpha in. She kissed each of her children goodbye before pulling Wash aside.

"Sorry to dump them on you like this," she apologized, "but Carolina didn't sound too great on the phone. She's really freaking out."

"It's fine," Wash replied, "just go make sure she's doing alright. I know how she can get, and so do you."

Tex nodded and rushed back to her house with Church so they could head out.

"Papa, are you coming with us?" Junior asked in the back of the car, calling Wash's attention to him.

"Not today, champ," Wash replied, ruffling his son's hair. "I have to stay and watch Beta. Have a good first day of school, alright? You can tell me all about it when you get home." Junior pouted, but nodded and accepted the kiss pressed to the top of his head. Alpha watched as Beta was taken inside, pouting again.

Tucker could see how jittery the two kids were in the back of the car, even though neither one spoke. He knew Junior's nervous leg bounce better than anyone, and he was doing it right then and there, and Alpha always looked distant when he was about to do something he would rather not do. He would have laughed, if he didn't feel so bad. Alpha didn't even get to be sent off on his first day by his parents, and Wash wasn't going to be there to help send off Junior. Not to mention they were subjecting the poor kids to eight hours of torture.

Okay, so kindergarten isn't that bad. It wasn't like they were learning trigonometry or anything (hell, Tucker dropped that class because he couldn't figure it out, was it even possible to learn?), but it was still eight hours away from their parents. Junior hadn't been away from them for eight hours without knowing where they were and having a way to contact them.

But work was work. It was shitty work, sure, but it paid the bills, so he couldn't lose it. Not when there were so few places hiring at the moment. He took a deep breath and parked the car, deciding he could be a few minutes late to walk the boys in.

"I don't want to go," Alpha declared, clinging to Tucker's leg once he was out of the car. "I want to go home and watch TV."

"I know, kiddo," Tucker replied, "but you have to go. You don't want your mom and dad to be upset, do you?"

Alpha's only response was to bury himself further into Tucker's leg, trying to hide from the world. On his other side, Junior clutched his hand tightly as he looked at all the strange people around him. Soon Tucker had two boys clinging to his legs, and he couldn't bite back the groan that tore from his throat.

"Come on, guys, you'll have fun!" Tucker exclaimed, his voice cheery and his smile wide, trying his best to convince the boys of the statement. "Let's go inside and see Mr. Andersmith, alright? You guys love Mr. Andersmith!"

"No!" Alpha cried out. "I want to go home."

"Well, that's not an option," Tucker replied and started walking, with extreme difficulty, as he had two children clinging to his legs, into the school building to drop them off in their class. By the time he reached the room, he was huffing and puffing, trying to catch his breath.

"Mr. Tucker, it's good to see you," Mr. Andersmith greeted, waving to the two boys clinging to him. "Alpha, Junior! It's good to see you two again! Come on in, let's get you into your assigned seats." The boys looked up at Tucker, who bent down and gently pushed them into the room.

"I have to go now," he said when they rushed back to him. "I'll see you two after school, alright? You can tell me all about your day then, but I have to go."

He kissed them both goodbye, because at this point it was natural habit to kiss Alpha goodbye, with how often the boy was over. He really was family, even if he wasn't blood. This seemed to help the boys understand the situation, as they followed Mr. Andersmith inside, tightly grasping each other's hands.

\-----

"Did you hear Carolina's in labor?" Florida asked Wyoming, who was pouring himself a cup of coffee. Wyoming could only grunt out, neither confirming nor denying, simply acknowledging he'd heard. "The twins are gonna be here sooner than we expected."

"Can't imagine there's much room in there for them to grow much more," Wyoming replied. "They're so bloody big already it's amazing they weren't here sooner."

"She may be big, but there's two kids in Carolina's uterus," Florida retorted, putting his phone down after shooting a text to York and North. "I can't imagine they're _that_ big."

Wyoming grunted again, not sure how to reply.

"Well," Florida announced, picking up his own cup of coffee, "I'm heading off to work. I'll keep you updated on Carolina, Church is keeping me and Tucker updated."

"Alright. Let me know when you're on your way home."

\-----

"Holy shit!" York exclaimed when he looked at the message he received from Florida. "Carolina's in labor!"

"Why are you yelling?" South moaned from the couch. "Some people are trying to sleep."

"Some people don't stay out until two in the morning and collapse on their brother's couch," North snapped in reply. "You're a grown woman now, you can't keep acting like a kid."

"Especially since your brother's about to have a kid," York added. "You don't want to be a bad influence, do you?"

South flipped him off and covered her face with a pillow, huffing loudly. "Where is Andrea anyway?" she asked.

"Sleeping," North replied. "She's not feeling great right now, so she's going to stay home today."

"Can I call in and say I have to take care of my sister-in-law that's about to have a baby?" South asked, waving her hand absently in the air. "Y'know, so I don't have to go to work."

"No, you cannot use my wife to get out of work because you were stupid last night," North replied, pulling the pillow off her face. "Now get up and go home so you can get dressed and go to work."

South sat up and looked around, a strange look on her face. "Where's York?" she asked. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, he came whipping around the corner, a piece of toast in his mouth as he grabbed his jacket and tried to pull on his shoes. "Whoa, there, lady killer, where are you going?" she asked, jumping up to stop him before he bolted out the door.

"I'm gonna go check on her," York replied around his toast.

"No, you're not," South deadpanned. "If she wants you there, she'll tell you she wants you there. Until then, you're gonna stop looking like some anime schoolgirl late for her first day and eat your toast like a normal fucking person."

York blinked at her, barely catching his toast as it fell from his open mouth. He cleared his throat and nodded. "Okay, I guess you're right," he said.

"You are so whipped for her," South scoffed as she walked into the kitchen, looking for her own breakfast.

"Can you people stop eating my food?" North asked in exasperation. "I don't grow food you know."

"No, your wife does," South retorted, opening a tupperware and sniffing its contents. "Of course, since you knocked her up, I haven't had fresh tomatoes."

"I didn't 'knock my wife up', South."

"How else do you describe getting a woman pregnant?"

North rolled his eyes. "Fine, I will grow you tomatoes if you want them so bad."

"Fuck that, the only thing you could grow is a baby, and Andrea's doing that, too, so really, you can't grow anything." York choked on the piece of bread he was eating. "Oh, shut up, you're no better."

"Bitch, please," York replied, snapping his fingers in her general direction. "Anyway, I guess if I'm not rushing to Carolina's side, I need to get to work." He had that constipated 'I don't want to do this' look on his face, spelling out how he'd much rather be with her, but he shot off a text before leaving the house. South decided she needed to change into some clean clothes, so she left the house, followed closely by her twin.


	2. Chapter 2

"It's crazy to think that Carolina's twins are already two weeks old," Florida commented as he arranged the flowers Wyoming had bought him as a late Valentine's day gift in a vase. "I mean, time just flies by so fast."

"Indeed," Wyoming replied, his voice heavy with fatigue. He pressed a kiss to Florida's cheek before heading to their room for the night. It had been a long day for him, he was exhausted.

Florida finished arranging the flowers in a way that was acceptable to him and put them out on the table. Wyoming wasn't the most romantic person in the world, so Florida showed off every little gift proudly.

When the flowers were arranged in a pleasing way, Florida smiled tiredly and started to head to the kitchen to clean up after dinner but stopped when he heard a soft knock on the door. At first he didn't think to check it, it was surely some neighborhood rascals playing a prank on him, but something felt wrong to him. Something urgent. He turned on his heel and headed to the door.

When he opened it, there was no one outside. "Ah, well, those rascals got me," Florida commented with a chuckle and was just about to close the door when he heard a soft noise. His head snapped down to the ground, where he saw a little baby reaching toward him, cold and scared, on the verge of tears. He bent down and picked up the baby, wrapping them up in his jacket.

It wasn't until he was inside that he noticed the letter tucked into the blanket, blank ink scrawled across it. He pulled it out of the bundle and rested the baby against his shoulder, opening the envelope for the contents inside.

_Wyoming_

_I know you said you didn't want anything to do with me ever again after what happened, and I have no intentions of trying to break you and Florida apart. All you need to know is I cannot care for this baby. Inside is his birth certificate and the other important papers you will need. He doesn't have a name yet, I decided it was best for you to come up with that._

Florida could only assume that the mother of the baby was someone Wyoming had slept with while they were separated, and a glance at the birth certificate confirmed that assumption. The baby was a month old, strange considering he had no name yet.

He craddled the baby in his arms and walked upstairs to his room where he found his boyfriend fast asleep. He hated the idea of having to wake him up, but this was an important topic of discussion that couldn't wait, so he sat down next to him on the bed and shook him, gently enough not to hurt him, but firm enough that it actually did something.

Wyoming swatted the hand away and opened his eyes, which immediately fell on the baby resting in Florida's arms. "Must be dreaming," he muttered to himself.

"Knock, knock," Florida said, voice chipper.

"Who's there?" Wyoming asked grogily.

"You're."

"You're who?"

"You're not dreaming."

Eyes narrowing in suspicion and confusion, Wyoming sat up on the bed and rubbed his face. "What do we do?" he asked.

"I don't know," Florida replied, his normally happy face fallen into a frown. "We aren't positive that the baby's yours-"

"Wait, who said the baby's mine?"

Florida handed over the note to Wyoming, who scanned it, slowly as he was still half asleep. It was like watching snails race, Florida thought, as he watched his boyfriend read and reread and reread again the words on the note, trying to make sense of them. He didn't speak, neither one did, and the baby didn't make a sound, having fallen asleep against Florida's shoulder.

"What do we do?" Wyoming asked again when it seemed that the words in the letter finally clicked in his mind, understanding washing over him. "Do...how do we get a DNA test?"

"We can go to the hospital," Florida suggested, "but we don't have anything to carry him in or...maybe..." He handed the baby to Wyoming, who protested, demanding to know what Florida was planning. Florida just raised a finger to his lips as he grabbed his phone, pushing some of his dark locks from his face. He raised the phone to his ear and waited, tapping his foot softly against the floor of his room.

The phone was about to go to voicemail, and Florida's only hope squashed, when it was answered. "Hello?" Tucker asked, voice heavy with fatigue. It must have been another long night.

"Tucker, hi," Florida greeted, using his best 'I'm sorry to fuck up your sleep schedule' voice. "I need to ask you something."

"Florida, I love you, but I'm not sleeping with you."

"Aw, you wish that's what this was about." He chuckled as Tucker scoffed at him, Wash softly complaining in the background. "We have a code purple, do you still have your car seat?"

"Code purple?" Tucker asked. Florida imagined him sitting up in bed, Wash perking up beside him at the code. "What's going on that's code fucking purple?"

"Um, it's a long story." Florida looked over at Wyoming, who was playing with the baby's hand. "Do you have to car seat or not?"

"Which one? Newborn or older?"

"Newborn."

"Yeah, it's down in the basement. I never got around to throwing the damn thing out. I'll bring it over." The line went dead.

Florida looked at Wyoming again, then the baby, then down at the ground. He fiddled with his phone, ideas escaping him. He was usually good at this kind of thing, dissipating tension in a room, but this was different. There was a baby involved, possibly his future son, and he had no fucking clue what to do.

He moved to the bed and looked down at the baby, smiling at him when he looked up into his eyes. "Hi, little guy!" he cooed. The baby just looked at him with a blank face, perhaps a little confused. It was hard to tell with a baby.

He was bonding with the baby, at least, the little boy reaching out for him the best he could. Florida pressed a kiss to his little nose as he pulled him into his embrace, letting the little fist wrap around his finger.

"We should pick a name," FLorida suggested, looking up at Wyoming, whose face scrunched up. "We can't keep referring to him as 'baby'."

"And if he isn't mine?" Wyoming retorted. Florida couldn't help but think that his boyfriend didn't want the baby to be his.

"We won't make it official then," Florida replied. "If he's not really yours, we won't put the name on the birth certificate. But if he is yours, if he's _ours_ , we should have a name picked out, don't you think?"

Wyoming grunted. "Gamma," he said.

"Gamma," Florida said. "I like it." He ran his thumb over the tiny hand still gripping his finger and smiled. "Hi, Gamma."

\-----

"Everything has to be perfect," Carolina insisted, rushing around the room, straightening out her dress. "How's dinner coming?"

"Fine, just like it was ten minutes ago," York replied, exasperated. "You hate your dad, why are you so hellbent on impressing him?"

"I may hate him," Carolina snapped, "but he's still my father, and he's ridiculously picky, you know this."

"I do know this, and I hate him for it." He gripped her arm and made her look at him. "Don't you remember how he reacted when you told him about your pregnancy? How he made a scene in a public fucking restaurant becaues he didn't like the fact that you weren't married? And then demanded you marry that sorry excuse of a man?" His words cut deep, painful, but Carolina couldn't disagree.

She rubbed her arm nervously. "He's still my dad and the twins' grandfather. I at least owe him some...I don't know, information? Let him know how things are going?"

"Why?" York asked, his voice slightly frustrated. "If he's an asshole to you, why do you feel the need to keep him updated on your life? He's toxic and you know it. Do you want him to be involved in the twins' lives if he's going to put them down the way he put down you and Church?"

Carolina looked down at the ground, at a loss for words. Se thought to all the times she'd screamed that she wanted to kill her father, or at least punch him, for putting her down, whether it was saying that the art project she'd worked hard on looked terrible or criticizing her form in sports even if her team won. Nothing was ever good enough for him. No, she didn't want that for the twins.

"Well, I guess I'll leave it up to him then," she said with conviction. "If he's going to keep acting like that, then he's not coming back here. He can change if he wants to keep seeing the twins."

"That's the spirit!" York cheered. He did a victory dance when she turned away from him.

And so she stopped giving so much of a damn. She opened a bottle of wine and filled a glass, handing it to York before she filled one for herself. "I'm not going to drink much tonight," she said.

"Right," York said, nodding. "Can't contaminate the baby food after all. Is it alright to have this then?"

"I just have to wait a couple hours before feeding them again," Carolina replied. "Wash and Tucker have the kids for a while, so it's fine. If push comes to shove, I just pull out the formula."

Leonard L. Church Sr. arrived just as dinner finished. York answered it, screaming to himself how he was a poor bastard that put up with so much in the name of love. He opened the door and smiled, as best he could, at Leonard Sr. and waved him inside. The older man gave him a strange look, most likely wondering why he was there, but said nothing. York knew the man hated him. Good thing the feeling was mutual.

"Hi, Dad," Carolina greeted, "dinner's done. Go ahead and take a seat, I'll bring it out in a second."

Leonard Sr. did as he was told, taking the seat at the head of the table. At least, York _thought_ that was the head of the table. He couldn't really tell, considering it was a round table, equal on all sides. But he was  _definitely_ in Carolina's seat. 

"What is for dinner, Carolina?" Leonard Sr. asked. York ahd forgotten all about that southern drawl, having spent so much time avoiding the man.

"Lasagna," Carolina replied. "I told Wash and Tucker they only needed to watch the twins for a couple of hours, so I needed something quick and easy." York bit back the joke on his tongue, knowing he needed to win the man over.

 _God, this is gonna suck_ he thought to himself as he poured a cup of wine for the man, then refilled his own glass. Carolina brought out a cup of sparkling juice for herself.

"So, why have you asked me to come here today?" Leonard Sr. asked, trying to sound nice, but there was a bitter undertone. It was clear he didn't want to be there, preferring to hole himself up in his mansion and work all day. Bastard.

York's phone began to buzz in his pocket, but he ignored it. He was in for the long haul now, as he took his seat beside Leonard. Sr, across from Carolina. "I have an announcement to make," she replied, looking over at York, who smacked the phone against his leg. "York and I are officially dating."

 _Please, every god in existence, don't let him freak the fuck out_ York silently pleaded. He watched the man, gauging a reaction, waiting for something. Anything.

He turned to Carolina, whose eyes flickered over to him. Finally, Leonard Sr. turned to her as well, looking disappointed. "You've decided you want to go from one promiscuous man who has no regard for his sexual partners to another," he commented. York could see how Carolina stopped breathing, if only for a moment, and wanted to make her feel better, but he couldn't, not when his own blood was boiling at the insult. He may not have finished college, but damnit, he wasn't fucking stupid!

 _Well, at least he didn't freak out. And, in fairness to him, he insulted_ me _, not her._

It didn't make York feel any better.

When his phone went off again, he decided not to ignore it again, instead standing upbruptly, making a show of pulling out his phone and answering it. If Leonard Sr. was going to treat him like shit, York would do it in return.  _Two can play at this game_ he thought.

It was South. "Code yellow, York," she said. "Why didn't you fucking answer the first time I called!?"

"Carolina's dad is here," York explained. "What's code yellow? What's going on?"

"Look, I can't explain it, just get over here! Where's your spare key, it's fucking freezing!"

"Why are you at my house?"

" _CODE YELLOW, YORK! WHAT DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND ABOUT CODE FUCKING YELLOW?"_

"Alright, alright, I'm on my way. Spare key is under the mat." He hung up and walked back into the dining room, where Carolina and her father seemed to be in the midst of a battle of glares. "That was South, she called code yellow," York explained to Carolina, "so I'm heading over. I'll be back tonight."

"Okay," she replied, accepting the kiss placed to her cheek.

York rushed out of the house and jabbed his key into the car's lock harder than necessary. It was dawning on him that South called  _code fucking yellow,_ which was not a good thing. But why would she be at York's house? If she was in that bad of a situation, why hadn't she called North? Or maybe she did, but he didn't answer, meaning that Andrea was probably in labor, or something. Maybe-

 _God, just fucking go!_ he shouted at himself. He pulled out of the driveway and gunned it to his house, only stopping at stop signs when he was sure he would hit someone. Gotta start getting better at this shit if he was gonna have to be a rolemodel for the twins.

When he pulled into his driveway, he saw South peeking out at him from the living room window. He cocked his head at her, but she just moved away from said window, the curtain falling back over it, blocking his view. He had no choice but to go inside and ask questions.

He wasn't ready for what he saw.

"Woah, South, I didn't know you hid your pregnancy so well," he joked when he saw the baby she was holding. Not very well, he might add. She clearly had no idea what she was doing.

"Shut up, asshole," she snapped, "he's not mine." She held out a piece of paper to him. He took it and read what it said.

_He's yours now, sucker_

"Well, that's nice," he scoffed. "Where did you find him?"

"On your doorstep. Just now." South handed the baby over to York before she grabbed something else. More papers. "Apparently his name is Delta. Whoever you knocked up knew all about our number naming thing." South handed the paper over to York. A birth certificate. "What's really weird is that I got a message from Wyoming this morning that the same thing happened to him. Some chick left his kid on his doorstep and just disappeared. Florida found the kid."

"Wait, wait, what the hell is going on?" York finally snapped. "There's no way this kid is mine."

South shrugged. "From the sound of things, Florida and Wyoming took their kid to the hospital for DNA testing. Last I heard, they were still there. Talking to cops, I assume."

York looked at her, still trying to comprehend what was going on. It jsut wasn't clicking. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. In order to try and make some sense of the situation, he looked down at the paper in his hand again.

 _Delta._ The name popped out at him. He didn't know why, it just did.

_Father: York_

It couldn't be. He couldn't have gotten someone pregnant.

"I think it's best you go to the hospital, too." South's voice was uncharacteristically soft and reassuring. "And call Carolina, this could...complicate things a bit."

He nodded and reached for his phone.

\-----

North sat in the hospital seat, his head in his hands, fingers digging into his scalp. He didn't want to cry, not now, but he couldn't keep the tears back. He heard footsteps pounding toward him, but didn't look up. He knew who they belonged to.

"North!" South yelled at him, noticing how he was bent over himself. "North, what happened?"

"We thought everything was okay," he muttered. "We thought everything was going fine."

"North, what happened? You're not making any sense."

He released his hair from his tight grasp and looked at his sister. She didn't show her soft side often, definitely not to strangers, but she couldn't hold back from North, not after everything they'd been through. Her concerned face may have been a shock to anyone else, but not to North.

"They couldn't save her," he choked out. South's face fell, shaking her head.

"I don't get it," she said softly. "She...died?"

North couldn't find a way to confirm her question, could only stare at her. Perhaps the tears that finally slipped from his eyes did it for him, though, because she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him closer, letting him cry into her shoulder.

"North, what happened?" she asked once he had calmed down again. "How did it happen?"

"I don't know," he replied. "They just took her from the room, sceraming at each other. Then when the doctor came to find me, he told me she was dead."

South looked ready to cry herself. She loved Andrea jsut as much as North, perhaps even more, in her own way. "What about the baby?" she asked.

"He's fine," North answered, wiping his face. "He's in the NICU for testing right now."

"Okay," she said softly, gripping his shoulders. "Okay, so the baby is alright." She bit her lip, trying to think of something to do, anything. "Does...did you pick a name for him?"

North took a shaky breath and let it out slowly, nodding. "We agreed on Theta," he replied.

"Alright. Um...do you think you can sleep? You looked tired. I can wait for word on Theta."

He shook his head. There was too much swirling around his head, too many images, too much, _too much_ , he couldn't possibly sleep with  _all of it screaming at him!_ He wrapped his fingers around his arms, digging them into the flesh tightly, drawing blood. South turned and rummaged through her bag for something, pressing it into his hands.

A stress relief ball.

He started squeezing it as hard as he could, though he wanted to rip it apart. He wanted to scream, he wanted to _punch_ something, but he couldn't.

"You need to be strong for Theta." He never agreed with his sister more.

He needed to calm down. But how?

Then the doctor approached the pair, looking hopeful. "North, do you want to come see Theta?" she asked. South snapped up, helping her brother up, standing at his side as moral support. He'd protected her all their lives, now it was time for her to do the same for him.

"All of the tests came back normal," the doctor explained as they walked. "He's a healthy baby boy." North nodded blankly, the words barely registering in his mind. Then they entered the nursery and a nurse brought Theta over.

He was so small. South thought that she'd crush him if she held him. He was making some weird gurgling noises and holding his hand up toward North, who finally,  _finally,_ smiled. She couldn't help but smile at Theta as well. He was just too damn cute.

\-----

"Oh my god, finally we can go to bed," Tucker complained as he collapsed onto the bed. "I'm never babysitting again, I swear."

"Right," Wash replied sarcastically. "You say that now, but when Carolina hits you, will you still be saying that?"

"If she hits me in the gut again, I swear I'm going to stab her!" Tucker yelled. "She knows that still hurts, even after five years! I never fully healed after that c-section!"

"Did you like being a science experiment?" Wash asked. Tucker just groaned in response. "You never talk about what happened."

"I don't like to think about it," Tucker replied. "I almost died, you know. They didn't even ask if I was willing to do it, they drugged me and implanted me. At least I got Junior."

Wash pulled him into a hug, holding him tightly. Tucker loved clingy Wash. "They're all in prison now, those fuckers."

"Good," Wash said. "They should be."

Tucker hmmed in reply and changed into something comfortable to sleep in. Wash was about to do the same when he got a call from his sister. "Hey, Ellie. Mhm. It's time? Alright, I'm on my way." Tucker raised an eyebrow at him. "Gotta go be an awesome older brother," Wash explained, pressing a goodnight kiss to Tucker's lips. "She's in labor."

"Ah. _It's time_."


	3. Chapter 3

Tucker's phone went off early in the morning. Again. He should really turn his phone off at night so he wouldn't be woken up constantly when he was supposed to be getting sleep. He groaned and picked up his phone, seeing a message from Wash. He opened it, only to bolt upright in bed.

_Code red._

Holy shit, no one had ever used code red before! He threw back his blankets and practically jumped out of bed, already pulling his phone to his ear. "Wash, what's going on?" he asked when his boyfriend answered.

"Can't explain over phone," Wash replied, and holy shit, Wash rarely spoke in broken English.

"Where are you? Who else did you text?"

"Carolina. I'm at the hospital."

Tucker hated the way he sounded, like he was broken, like something bad happened and he didn't know how to react. He froze in place as he tried to calm his own beating heart because if he was going to be any help, he needed to calm down first. "Okay. I'm going to call someone to come take care of Junior, then I'll be over." When he got a sound of understanding from Wash, he hung up and dialed the first number he found.

"Why are you waking me up at two in the fucking morning?" Grif asked when he picked up the phone. Tucker was so sure he'd let it go to voicemail.

"I have to go," Tucker said, "Family emergency. Can you watch Junior while I'm out."

"Isn't Junior part of the family?"

"Shut up, whatever this is, Junior shouldn't be there. Wash is freaking out and I need someone to watch the kid! I don't have time for this, asshole!"

"Why me?"

"You were the first person in my contacts."

"Wow, woopdie-doo."

"Fine, I'll get someone else."

Grif sighed dramatically and Tucker smirked in response. Grif secretly loved Junior. "Fine, I'll come over, but I'm bringing Simmons with me, and you know how he gets when he's tired. He'll hate you forever."

"He already does. I'm leaving the back door open for you, I'm heading out."

He rushed out of the house as quietly as he could, careful not to disturb Junior from his sleep. It would do no good for the boy to wake up now. He was in his car just as Grif and Simmons emerged from their house, Sarge watching suspiciously from his upstairs window. He pulled out of the driveway, not bothering with their typical chatter. Wash needed him, and he needed him yesterday.

_His sister just had a baby, so he's probably in the maternity ward_ Tucker thought to himself as he tried to gauge where Wash was. He found Wash pretty quickly, blankly staring at the babies in the nursery, or perhaps one in particular. Tucker could only assume it was his niece or nephew.

"Wash?" he called, reaching out and lightly gripping his arm. "Wash, what's wrong?" Wash opened and closed his mouth several times, unable to form words. Tucker moved in front of him, forcing himself into Wash's line of view so he had to look at him. "Wash, please, I can't help you if you don't tell me what happened."

He finally looked at Tucker,  _really_ looked at him, and deflated. "How...how do you feel about having another baby?" he asked softly.

"Okay, weird question," Tucker replied, eyebrows knitting together. "I don't plan on getting pregnant again, if that's what you're asking." Wash shook his head. Tucker pulled him down so their forehead were touching, hoping to bring him some kind of comfort. "Wash, no more cryptic crap, what's going on?"

"Ellie died," Wash announced. Tucker let out a soft gasp, pulling back slightly.

"What do you mean she died?" he asked. "How?"

"Apparently she had an undiagnosed brain aneurysm that burst during labor," Wash explained.

"Okay, so what happens with the baby? Oh, fuck, is the baby alright?"

Wash nodded. "He's fine." He pointed at one up front in a bassinet. "He doesn't have a name yet. Mom's next of kin, but she refused to take the baby. So did all my sisters. So that leaves us."

Tucker nodded and wrapped his arms around Wash's neck, turning him so his back was to the window. "So now I get why you were asking about another baby," he half-joked.

"Can we handle another baby?"

Tucker shrugged. "I don't see why not," he replied. "I know Junior can be a handful, but we can't just not take the baby because of that. He's family, we can't just abandon him." Wash folded in on himself, clinging to Tucker tightly. "Listen, babe, it'll be fine, we'll make it work, I promise." He pressed a soft, reassuring kiss to his lips.

They clung to each other tightly, Tucker's eyes wandering back to the sleeping baby in the nursery. "Can we hold him?"

"I think so."

Tucker tapped on the window lightly enough to not disturb the babies, but loudly enough to catch the attention of a nurse. She waved them inside. "Come on." He pulled the still hesitant Wash into the nursery. He pointed out Ellie's baby and he was handed over to Tucker. "Look," he said, drawing Wash's attention, "he's opening his eyes."

The baby looked at them with the most stunning honey eyes Tucker had ever seen. The baby looked between the two of them, back and forth, his little hand coming up in front of his face. Wash finally let himself smile at the gesture. He always was a sucker for everything adorable.

"I guess we need a name for him," Tucker finally said.

"Something better than Junior," Wash joked.

"Hey, Junior is a perfectly good name!" Tucker defended. "If you hate it so much, you come up with something better."

Wash took a minute to think it over. "How about Epsilon?" he suggested.

"And you say Junior is bad."

"Hey, there's an aesthetic I have to stick to."

Tucker chuckled and rolled his eyes, but nodded. "Okay, Epsilon is fine."

Wash pulled Tucker close to him, the baby safely cradled between them. Epsilon's eyes fell shut again. They smiled down at him, and then Tucker was pressing the baby into Wash's reluctant arms. "You need to get used to this," he said.

"Hey, I helped raise Junior," Wash retorted, taking the baby easily into his grip. "I know how to hold a baby."

"I know that," Tucker replied, "that's not what I was referring to."

Wash nodded in understanding. Tucker didn't want him to get used to holding a baby, Tucker wanted him to get used to holding  _this_ baby. His nephew and his son all in one. His smile faltered again as he thought about Ellie and how excited she was to have a baby, even if she didn't know who the father was.

"Hey, no looking sad," Tucker joked lightly, running his fingers through Wash's hair. "You're not allowed to look sad right now, this is a happy moment."

"I'm trying," Wash replied. "It's just been a long day."

"I know it has." A weary smile found its way onto Tucker's face, fatigue crawling back into his bones now that the crisis was averted. "Why don't you go home with Junior and I can stay here with Epsilon?"

Wash shook his head. "I can't," he replied. "There's supposed to be some child services person coming to talk to me. I think it would be best for us to both be here. Who's watching Junior."

"Grif and Simmons."

Wash snorted. "You trust those two to watch Little Tucker Junior? Grif is too lazy to really take care of him and Simmons will drive them nuts."

"Better than Sarge," Tucker snapped back. "Or Donut," he added.

"I don't know, I think Donut might be better than Grif."

Tucker rolled his eyes. "Yeah, if you want our child to know the top ten positions to best please your man," he replied. "I think I made the right choice. It's late at night, Grif and Simmons will probably crash on the couch. Honestly, they're there more as a precaution than anything, in case Junior needs something, or someone breaks in, or something else." Tucker froze and his eyes trailed away. "On second thought, I can't believe I left my baby at home with  _Grif and Simmons._ Fucking hell, I should've called, like, North or someone. Though, he's still dealing with Andrea's death, and Carolina has the twins. I should've brought Junior with me."

Wash laughed and quieted him with another kiss. "Yeah, you should've, but it wouldn't be nice to wake him, either," he said. "I'm sure you'll be with him again soon. I know how protective you are of him."

"I did almost lose him," Tucker replied, rubbing his finger across Epsilon's little hand. The baby made a little grunting noise and rubbed his face with his other hand, letting out a soft cough before he burst into tears. Wash and Tucker both laughed. "I could really do without the crying," Tucker joked. A nurse came over and took the baby from Wash to feed him. They walked back out into the hall, hand in hand, in a much better place than the code red that brought them together like this.

"Do you feel better now?" Tucker asked, pulling Wash closer to him, placing his hands on his shoulders.

"Yeah," Wash replied, a smile of relief on his face. "Sorry for freaking out."

"No, it's fine. I understand why you did. No one should have to go through this alone." Tucker's mind wandered to North. Sure, he had South, but she wasn't the best with kids, or emotions, or anything that didn't involve punching shit. "Why don't you try to rest while we wait for the case worker or whoever the hell is coming?" he suggested. "I got some sleep, but you didn't."

Wash shook his head. "I'm not tired," he protested. "I can't...I can't..."

Just when Tucker thought he was finally making progress, Wash slipped back into sadness. He just needed some time to grieve. "Let's sit at least, " he suggested and pulled Wash onto a chair. He pushed Wash's head onto his shoulder and ran his fingers through his hair again. Wash loved it when he did that.

It didn't take long for Wash's protests to be nulified to nothing as he fell asleep. Tucker continued to run his fingers through his hair as he waited nervously for whatever came next.

 


	4. Chapter 4

South couldn't believe the scene in front of her. It seemed like everyone was holding a baby, except Church and Tex, who hadn't had their latest munchkin yet, the older two running around in the yard with Junior. Her eyes flickered around the room, landing on each and every one of the babies.

Wyoming and Florida were perhaps the most out of their comfort zone with a baby. South knew for a fact that those two were extremely kinky in the bedroom and had never planned on having kids, no matter what anyone said about Florida. North was looking better, moving through the stages of grief pretty well, though she still had to comfort her brother at night. Carolina was just exhausted.

York clearly had no clue what he was doing, but he was still doing better than Wyoming. Tucker was holding little Epsilon, the newest addition to his and Wash's household, and she would never say this out loud, but that little bundle of cuteness was the most adorable of all of them. Theta was a close second, though.

"Okay, can someone explain what the hell is going on?" South finally asked. "Why are we all piled in our house?" She had slipped back into the habit of referring to North's house as theirs, since they had lived together for years before he married Andrea.

"We just need a minute to figure out what's going on," York explained, clutching Delta to his chest. "Clearly I'm not the only one that had a kid dumped on me. I have no idea what I'm doing."

"You don't have any equipment, do you?" Tex asked. York shook his head. "Wy, Florida, you need stuff, too, right?" The older couple nodded, Florida pulling Gamma closer to him protectively. He thought he would drop the baby. "Alright, I'll start on a list of things you'll need to properly care for the babies."

South considered speaking up, but how? How could she tell everyone that she had a crib and other baby things stashed away in the empty room in her apartment? She'd never told them about her pregnancy.

She stood and walked into the kitchen to pour herself a drink to distract herself. She was never good with emotions, and if she kept up thinking about the past, she was going to snap at someone. She was pouring a cup of coffee when North came into the kitchen.

"You doing alright?" he asked.

"Just didn't expect to be surrounded by a bunch of kids," she replied, putting the coffee pot back into its place. "Theta I can deal with, but seeing literally everyone else with kids..."

North wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I know," he said. "If you don't want to go back, you don't have to."

"Everyone will wonder why I'm not coming back," she replied.

"It's fine. I don't think they expect you to stay."

It wasn't reassuring, but she understood what her brother meant. She was the only one without a kid, and it was safe to assume no one expected her to have any, so they didn't expect her to stay. So instead of following North back into the living room, she stayed in the kitchen.

When she heard Theta start crying, she downed her drink and made her way upstairs to the nursery, where she found him flailing in his crib. He looked at her with large, wet eyes and reached out for her. She reached into the crib and lifted him out, careful to support his head, significantly better than when North first brought him home. She'd had to learn to care for him quickly, even going to classes, due to her brother's grief causing him to be somewhat absent.

"Let's go get you something to eat," she said, taking him downstairs. She prepared a bottle while her friends continued to ask questions and discuss what they needed to get and needed to do. As she began to feed Theta, she walked back into the living room.

"Classes work wonders," she said. "I went to a couple after Theta was born. I also watched some videos with Andrea when North wasn't home."

"They really are great," Wash commented. "I went with Tucker while he was still pregnant."

"Okay, I'll add the most necessary ones to the list," Tex commented, adding some things to the list.

\-----

South did most of the cleaning now. She didn't mind much, she understood North was still struggling, no matter how well he hid it when company was around. She pushed a journal into his hands and pushed him upstairs, dealing with the rest of the mess herself.

It helped keep her mind off of the memories that seeing all those babies brought up. Unconsciously, she ran a hand across her belly, picking up several dishes and cups to busy her hands. It had been a long time since she thought about her pregnancy.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Her brother's voice shocked her, a small scream escaping her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied. "Why?"

"You're not really acting fine," North explained. "You don't usually clean alone without complaning unless you're trying to keep your mind off of something." South shrugged and went back to cleaning. "It's not healthy not to talk about things, you know."

"What is there to talk about?"

North tilted his head in a motion of disbelief. "You never talk about the miscarriage."

South didn't look at him as she put the dishes in the sink. "Who would I tell? You're the only one who knew and you were there. It was painful, it was years ago, there's nothing to talk about."

North put a hand on her shoulder, holding her in place. "You tried to push past it like it never happened," he said, forcing her to look at him. "You never grieved, just insisted you were fine, and look at you now."

South bit back words she would later regret. "What's there to grieve over?" she asked. "I never knew the kid."

"You knew you were going to have a boy," North pointed out. "That could also be adding to your distress, seeing so many baby boys in one room."

South shook her head. "The baby died before-"

"You cried when you held him."

South shook her head. "He's dead," she snapped. "He was too small to even be considered a baby."

"South-"

"What do you want me to say, North!? That I'm sad he died!? Fine, I am! That doesn't change anything! I haven't had another pregnancy since, probably won't ever have any kids, and Carolina fucking gets two! She didn't even want kids! And fine, I didn't either when I got pregnant, but damnit, North, I was all alone when I got pregnant! Do you think it was easy to hear everyone insist I would be a terrible mom while they had no idea I was pregnant!? I've come to terms with everything that happened because I had no choice!"

She wiped furiously at the tears that slipped from her eyes, hating to show anything that resembled weakness. Her brother pulled her closer in a tight hug. 

"Do you want me to get some ice cream?" North asked and South laughed into his shoulder.

"I have a hidden stash in the freezer," she replied, pulling away from him. She walked over to the freezer and pulled out two small containers, individual size, and tossed one to her brother. They walked into the living room and sat down, munching away at their comfort food.

"So, what do you think about the gang having kids?" North asked. "Pretty crazy what happened, right?"

"Yeah," South replied. "I mean, not wanting kids is one thing, but abandoning them on someone's doorstep is another. I mean, sure they knew where their baby daddies lived, but what if they'd moved out. It's no secret Florida and Wyoming have been talking about it for a while now."

"The police are looking for them," North pointed out.

South didn't comment, just kept eating her ice cream. What could she say? She was happy the cops were looking for them? She wasn't, she expected the cops would give up after a couple days of fruitless searching. She just listened to her brother's ramblings, glad he was keeping her mind off of other things she didn't want to deal with.


	5. Chapter 5

York was down to his last two diapers. And he was low on formula. Who knew babies could be so expensive? Besides all the parents that came before him, his friends that also had kids, the people that had been warning him  _not_ to have any little devils because of that reason. Yeah, who else knew kids were so damn expensive?

He sighed in frustration. He looked down at Delta, who was squirming on the floor mat he'd been instructed to but in lieu of a changing table, looking ready to cry again. York quickly closed his onesie so he wasn't cold and picked him up. A month had passed since Delta had been dumped on his doorstep and he still had no clue what he was doing. He was ever grateful to have Carolina with him, she knew what she was doing.

He couldn't pester her, though, with his problems; she was too busy with the twins and exhausted beyond belief. Usually he would be there to help her, but they'd only started talking about moving in together and things were getting a bit...rough. He didn't want to bother Tex, and he didn't really know Church well enough to bother him about baby stuff, even though he was close to the two women most involved in his life. It was weird, wasn't it, how that worked?

He picked up his phone and sent a message to Wash, asking if he could help him get stuff for the baby. The man was a godsend honestly. While the women just picked stuff out for him, Wash explained why this product was better than this one, what not to use, et cetra. Asking him for help should have been the first thing he did.

_I'm meeting Tucker at the store, but he's there now with Junior. If you need stuff now, it would probably be best to go meet up with him. He'll help you out_

That was not what he wanted to see, honestly. Like Church, York didn't really know Tucker that well, though he knew him better than Church. He and Wash were practically joined at the hip after they started dating, though getting Wash away from him didn't mean the man talked all night about him, unlike a certain woman he knew. Wash knew when to leave talk of family at the door, but he  _was_ a family man, so he chose to stay with them more often than not.

_K, thanks_

Delta squirmed in his arms. York sighed, knowing he didn't have much of a choice, so he loaded the baby up into the car and headed to the store.  _Let Tucker know I'm coming_ he added as an after thought. Once he got into the car, he looked back at Delta, who had calmed down. Clearly he wasn't doing well as a parent if Delta was more comfortable in his car seat than held by his father.

He looked at his phone when he got a text notification. It was from a number he didn't recognize.

_Wash told me you're gonna meet me here. I'm in the toy aisle with Junior. Hurry up or I'm leaving._

Ah, it was Tucker. He sent a text letting him know he understood and was on his way, then backed out slowly. Okay, so driving the speed limit wasn't really slowly, but fuck, yes it was! He hated have to go the speed limit, but he had to when he had Delta to worry about, and fuck, he hated kids.

_Okay, so D isn't that bad, I don't hate him, but still. The crying can stop._

His face scrunched up. He hadn't heard Delta cry in a while, and a check in the mirror showed the baby was fast asleep. That was nice, he had some time to think before the baby woke up again.

When he found Tucker in the store, he was rubbing his face at something Junior was saying, but his shoulders were bouncing. He was laughing at whatever it was. He spotted York and waved him over. Epsilon reached out to Tucker, a soft whine leaving him, wrapping his little fist around Tucker's finger when he reached down to tickle him. Epsilon kicked his feet and smiled, shoving his free fist into his mouth.

"So, what are you looking for?" Tucker asked York, who looked clueless as ever.

"Uh, I'm getting low on diapers and formula," York replied. The baby carrier was killing his arm, so he said fuck it and set it down on the ground.

Tucker nodded and looked down at Delta sleeping in his carrier. "Is he meeting his milestones?" he asked. "How's he developing?"

"Fine, I think," York replied.

"Is he rolling onto his stomach on his own?" Tucker asked. He rattled off a bunch of other things Delta should be doing, but York hadn't noticed most of them. He slowly shook his head no. "Well, every baby develops at their own pace. Just...try a few tricks, okay?" He then started listing off things York could do to try and push Delta in the right direction. "And for fuck's sake man, hold your child."

"Daddy said a bad word!" Junior exclaimed.

"Yeah, don't tell Papa," Tucker replied, pointing a finger at the kid. Junior nodded, a grin on his face.

York felt a pang of jealousy as he watched Tucker and his children. Epsilon seemed happy, especially when he got attention, and Junior and Tucker's relationship was just...god, York wanted that with Delta. Goals, they were fucking goals. He wondered how Wash was with the kids.

"Alright, let's get going before Junior demands another toy he'll play with once and then abandon," Tucker commented, taking Junior's hand in his own and leading him away, the boy whining as he reached for a toy on the shelves.

"Daddy, I want it!" Junior whined.

"If you pick something out for Epsilon, I'll let you pick one thing for yourself," Tucker said, "but we have to help Uncle York first."

York picked Delta's carrier up and followed Tucker, grabbing an abandoned cart he passed. When they got to the baby aisle, he was overwhelmed by the amount of products and brands there were.

"What's Delta's eating habit like?" Tucker asked. "He doesn't react badly to his formula, does he?"

"No, he's never had a problem with it," York replied. "The doctor did say he was a bit light for his age, though."

"So he should probably be eating more often," Tucker replied, grabbing a can of powdered formula. "Were there any other concerns? Nutritional problems?"

"No, not that I'm aware of."

Tucker read the label on the formula he was holding before putting it back and grabbing another one. "This one will last you a while," he said, finally handing it over. "It should help bulk him up a bit, too." He then started looking at the diapers, eyeing Delta. He grabbed a bag, squeezed them in his hands, and tossed it into York's cart. "Anything else you need?"

"Not that I can think of," he replied. Junior cheered and ran around the aisle, screaming about toys.

"Junior!" Tucker hissed. "Calm yourself child!"

Epsilon started crying, startled by the sudden noise, and reached for his father. "Hey, hey, shh you," Tucker sighed, reaching into Epsilon's carrier, playing with his hands. A woman who entered the aisle scoffed.

"Did you kidnap that child?" she asked, eyeing Epsilon, who was quickly growing louder, fussing. Tucker ignored her, pulling the baby from his carrier and placing him against his shoulder. "I'm calling the police!"

"Don't think about it," York hissed.

"Hey, Junior, let's go look for something for Ep," Tucker suggested, following his son as he cheered and ran away. York glared at the woman in the aisle before he turned his cart and followed them.

Junior looked around excitedly in the toy aisle, looking at all the cool things he'd like. "You gotta pick something good for your brother first," Tucker reminded. Epsilon was still whining when York approached them, burying his face in his father's shoulder, reacting well to the soothing circles rubbed against his back.

"I can't believe you just took that," York whispered to Tucker as Junior looked at the toys for babies. Tucker just shrugged in response.

"Happens all the time," he replied. "People just assume, y'know?"

"Tucker-"

"It's fine, York, don't make a big deal out of it!" It was clear the incident had affected Tucker, but if he wanted to pretend nothing was wrong, York would have to respect that. Tucker never handled confrontation well, especially after Junior was born apparently.

"How about this one?" a new voice asked, handing a toy cat to Junior. Tucker smiled when he saw Wash smile and wave sheepishly at him. "Sorry I'm late," he apologized.

"Epsilon started crying," Junior commented, walking over to his brother, tugging on Tucker's pant leg, "so I thought I'd help him feel better."

"Mhm, big brother of the year," Tucker commented, crouching down to offer the cat to his brother. It was a gray cat with yellow paws and inner ears and bright aqua eyes. Epsilon took the toy in his hand and brought it to his mouth and bite it.

"Looks like he likes it," Wash commented and cheered with Junior, who ran to choose a toy of his own. York watched the two intensely, taking in their interaction. Perhaps if he watched them enough, he would learn how to interact with Delta and be a better father altogether. Junior pointed at a toy on a higher shelf, and instead of just grabbing it, Wash lifted Junior up to grab it himself. The boy giggled and took the toy, showing it to Tucker, who rolled his eyes and nodded his agreement.

"Now it's time for the boring stuff," Wash said, turning to his friend. "You wanna join us for this, too, or just the baby stuff?"

"I've got a few things I need to grab, since I'm here, but I'll let you get to your family time," York replied. Before he left, however, he pulled Wash aside and told him about the incident with the random woman.

"I'll deal with it," Wash assured him. "This isn't the first time this has happened."

"So I've heard," York replied. He walked off a bit hesitantly, looking down at Delta's bright green eyes, the baby now awake again. The boy's eyes were freakishly green, no shade York thought real, but they were nice, looked perfect on Delta's face. York's own eyes were a dull gray-green color, most likely where he got them from.

Upon Junior's insistence, Wash crouched down and helped the boy onto his back, piggy back style. With Epsilon calmed down again, he was strapped back in his carrier, chewing on his new toy cat.

"That's him officer!" the woman from earlier exclaimed, pointing at Tucker. Wash raised an eyebrow and turned to Tucker, who sighed in annoyance. A police officer looked at them, clearly confused.

"Can I help you, officer?" Wash asked, Tucker's eyes downcast, busying himself with the baby.

"I was informed there was a kidnapped child," the officer replied, "but it appears that there's simply been a misunderstanding."

"That's the mean lady from earlier," Junior said, pouting at her. "She yelled at daddy."

The officer led the woman away, leaving the family behind to try and sort through everything. Junior had many questions for his parents, none his parents could answer in a way he would understand. "The world is a bad place," Wash finally said when his son asked too many questions and demanded answers. "Not everyone you meet will like you. They'll judge you because you're different."

"But you can't let those people get to you," Tucker quickly added. "Because you're a wonderful child with a bright future."

"But you let them get to _you_ , daddy," Junior pointed out. Tucker sighed and took a deep breath.

"It's too late for me to learn this lesson," he replied.

\-----

It was a sleepless night for Wash. It had been years since he'd last had nightmares, months before he and Tucker started dating, long before he had a family. He clutched the sheets beneath his fingers, his breathing labored, sweat covering his flesh, causing his clothes to cling to him uncomfortably. His head snapped to the side, his hand reaching out for something,  _anything,_ his fingers wrapping around whatever it was he grasped.

Tucker awoke to Wash gripping his hand tightly, sitting up in concern when he saw Wash suffering. He wanted desperately to wake his boyfriend, but he knew from Carolina to never wake a person who was having a nightmare. He leaned down and whispered "You're alright, Wash, you're safe". Wash relaxed a little, letting go of Tucker's hand. The younger man laid a hand gently against his lover's chest and rested his head in the crook of his neck. "You're safe," he repeated, his words soft as he fell back asleep.

Sometime later, Wash awoke in cold sweat, Tucker tucked into his side, his hand placed over his heart. Wash's throat was dry, begging for a drink, so as softly as he could, he slipped out from under him and walked out of the room. Tucker groaned and opened his eyes, finding the bed empty. He rubbed his eyes and stood from his bed, recoiling at the cold seeping into his feet. He struggled to force himself out of bed, wanting desperately to have a decent night's sleep for once, but Wash needed him. He endured the cold, walking down to the kitchen, where the only light in the house was on.

Wash downed a cup of water, the cold liquid calming his parched throat. He took several deep breaths, trying to force the images of his nightmare from his mind. "Wash?" The voice, so familiar but so unfamiliar at the same time, shocked and scared him. Panicked, he reached into the cupboard and grabbed the gun stashed inside it, higher than anyone else could reach. He did it so quickly his movements looked like blurs. He turned the gun on the intruder, though he didn't pull the trigger.

Tucker looked at him, wide-eyed and terrified, and Wash was glad he'd long since learned not to pull the trigger without thought. He placed the gun heavily against the counter. "What the hell are you doing!?" Tucker hissed, approaching him. "We agreed, no guns in this house!"

"How do I keep you all safe if we don't have a gun?" Wash asked.

"What are you trying to keep us safe from, Wash? This is the safest neighborhood in the city!"

"There are people that want to hurt you!" Wash hissed, trying to keep his voice down so he wouldn't wake the children. "They want to take you and Junior, I can't help you if they do. I don't know what they'll do to you."

Tucker walked over to him and placed his hand softly against Wash's face, cupping his cheek. "Wash, no one is coming for us," he promised. His mind wandered to what Carolina had told him, about the abuse. Wash must have been slipping back into that mindset for some reason. "We're safe, Wash."

Wash shook his head and pulled Tucker closer, burying his face in his lover's neck. "I won't let them take you," he vowed. "I won't let them hurt you."

"Wash, baby, you aren't making any sense," Tucker said. "No one's coming for me and Junior." He ran his fingers through Wash's hair comfortingly.

"I love you," Wash declared, pulling away so he could look Tucker in the eye. There was panic and desperation in his eyes, a fear of something that didn't exist. He leaned down and pressed his lips to Tucker's, holding him tightly, fearing that if he let go he'd lose everything.

When Tucker broke away, he cupped Wash's face in his hands, forcing him to look him in the eye. "Wash, it's so late it's early, you're tired," he said. "We need to go back to bed, alright?"

"I can't," Wash replied. "If I sleep, they'll get you."

"No one is coming, I swear," Tucker insisted. "I know you're scared, but I'll be with you all night. Please, Wash." The pleading behind Tucker's gaze finally caused Wash to crumble and allow himself to be led back to their room. He allowed Tucker to wrap him in his arms, falling asleep to the sensation of fingers lazily massaging his scalp.


	6. Chapter 6

Moving day. Florida hated it, no matter how he presented himself, those who knew him could see it through the smile on his lips. Gamma watched the people around him moving big boxes, bigger than himself, grunting out and reaching for his parents. Wyoming didn't notice him, too busy moving to care about his son, but when Wash flicked his wrist toward the baby, Florida bent down and picked him up.

"How's Tucker doing?" Florida asked Wash, who had stopped for a cup of water. "He's at home with the kids, right?"

"All of them," Wash replied. "Alpha, Beta, Theta, they're all there, along with our two. He's a bit overwhelmed, one man with so many babies is intense, especially one as scared as Eta, but he's managing. He's been keeping me updated, and if he needs me, he's to send me a code yellow."

"Have you heard from Maine lately?" Florida asked. "I haven't heard from him since he moved out of city."

"Yeah, he's got a kid, too now," Wash said, pulling out his phone to show him. "He's just celebrated his first birthday. His name is Sigma." He showed Florida a picture of the boy, who had a head full of honey brown hair and dark brown eyes. "He said he's coming back to town next week."

"He's cute," Florida said with a smile. "Looks just like him."

"Thank god the mother's out of the picture," Wash said, taking his phone back. "She was pretty violent, from what I could gather."

"Is he going to move back here then?"

"Maybe. It's why he's coming next week, to look at some houses. He wants to get as far away from his ex-wife as he can."

Florida nodded. "Well, we haven't sold this one yet, he can take it if he likes it."

"I'm sure he'd like that," Wash said, "I'll send him a message."

Florida was about to take Gamma and put him down for a nap, but Wash stopped him. "I have something I need to ask you, since you know Tucker well," the younger man said, and that stopped Florida in his tracks. 

Outside, York and Carolina were having a small argument over whether she should be helping pack the truck. "The twins aren't that old, and you're still in pain," York pointed out. "You should be home with them."

"And you should be home with Delta," Carolina snapped back. "Neither one of us really wants to be here, but Florida and Wyoming are our friends, so we're here to help."

"Florida's okay, but I wouldn't cal Wyoming my friend," York whispered into her ear. "And I'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual."

"Then they're friends of our friends," Carolina corrected, "either way, we're here to help, so stop complaining and help." York sighed, but he dropped the topic and didn't bring it up again.

\-----

"It's been five years," Wash said when North asked, for the thousandth time, if he was sure. "If he doesn't want this at this point, why even bother stay with me?"

"Your the father of his children," North pointed out.

"Exactly!"

"You know Tucker has commitment issues," York commented. "He might freak out on you."

"Honestly, I'm planning on it," Wash muttered, hoping his friends didn't hear. "So, which one do you think is best?"

His friends looked at each other before they shrugged and examined the rings. They were nice, pretty, but nothing really stood out as being Tucker-like, the man liked things simple when it came to jewelry, if he wore any at all. What little he used to wear he'd given up when Junior was born, too afraid the baby would swallow something.

"We don't know what he likes," North finally pointed out, "why didn't you ask Carolina or Church to help you? They know him better."

"Church is at the hospital with Tex, now that she's finally gone into labor, and Carolina is busy," Wash pointed out.

York sighed. "Why don't you just ask him?"

Wash groaned. "Why is this so fucking hard?"

North looked at his phone and patted Wash's shoulder. "I hate to be that guy, but Theta's throwing a fit, I gotta go." Wash half-asses a wave goodbye as his friend left, telling York to go before he could say anything.

When he was alone, he looked at the rings again, determined not to leave until he had one picked. He asked to look at one that he thought was nice, but upon further inspection, found it to be too plain. Perhaps for himself, but Tucker deserved better. The man thought he wasn't anything special, but he deserved the world. He put up with so much shit and did it with two children hanging off of him like he was a jungle gym.

He was about to give up when he found one that had several gems inlaid in it. "Can I get different colored gems?" Wash asked the employee who pulled the ring out for inspection.

"Yes, we can put any gem in that you want," he replied. "What were you thinking?"

"How about aquamarine, topaz, garnet, and peridot?" Wash asked.

"That can be done, it will cost more though."

"That's fine, I can afford it. The gems can be changed later, right?"

"If you bring it in, yes."

Wash nodded and looked at it more. It was the only one that had stood out to him the entire time he had been searching for rings, so he decided to get it, asking for the gems he'd asked for to be added. He was told it would take about a month to get the gems set, which he agreed to; it would give him time to plan this shit out.

He paid in full for the ring. By no means was he rich, but he made enough money for his family to live well and still have plenty leftover. He was a bit of a money hoarder.

He needed to start planning out how he was going to propose.

\-----

"Gamma's finally down for his nap." Florida was exhausted, he'd spent no less than two hours (it was only thirty minutes) trying to get the baby to sleep. He wasn't used to the empty house yet, and the packing and all the new people had left him too wound up to sleep. Florida had to let him cry himself to sleep because nothing else worked.

Wyoming grunted in reply to let the other man know he heard.

"So, we head out to the new house once he wakes up," Florida stated, trying to get his lover to talk. He hated when Wyoming was quiet and didn't pay attention to him, especially when it concerned Gamma.

"Mhm," Wyoming replied. Florida rolled his eyes and forced the older man's laptop closed.

"Babe, we really need to talk about this. We only have this place for another hour, so we need to get our shit together. We haven't even eaten anything."

Wyoming sighed and picked up his phone, placing an order at a local sandwich shop that delivered. It was a life saver. Florida carefully brought down the carrier that Gamma was fast asleep in and prepared the last bottle they had still at the house.

It was surreal, eating in the empty house that they had occupied for years together, Gamma resting in a baby carrier instead of a crib, sandwiches the only thing they could get. Neither one commented on it, but they both felt it, a strange desire to undo everything they had done. They were both pretty bad with change that affected their personal lives, it was why it had taken so long for Florida to get comfortable in this current house.

"So much has happened in such a short time," Florida commented, eyeing the tomato in his sandwich with unhappy eyes. It tasted bad.

"Indeed," Wyoming replied. "Knock, knock."

"Who's there?"

"Yoo."

"Yoo who?"

"Yoo-hoo, bigger changes to come."

Florida snorted, choking on some of his food. It wasn't like the joke was particularly good, but Florida always loved Wyoming's shitty jokes, so he didn't say anything, just kept laughing. He tried to keep his coughs quiet so he wouldn't wake the baby.

"What bigger changes can I expect soon?" Florida asked once he had regained his composure.

"I'm not sure," Wyoming replied, "but I feel like they're coming."

\-----

Bed time rituals were important in the Tucker-Davidson household, where Junior couldn't sleep unless he was told two bedtime stories, one by each parent, and was kissed no less than twice and Epsilon wouldn't sleep unless Wash sang to him while rocking him in the rocking chair that was older than Wash himself.

Perhaps it was good, though, they were so exhausting that both parents almost never had a hard time getting to sleep. Staying asleep was another problem, but that came with having children.

When Tucker finally entered the bedroom he and Wash shared, rubbing lotion on his hands, the years of fatigue were written clear as day on his face. Wash patted the bed next to him, pulling the sheets back for his lover.

"Long day?" the older man asked.

"Mmm, you could say that," Tucker replied, tucking himself into Wash's side. "What about you? I heard you went shopping with the boys."

"Nothing exciting I'm afraid," Wash replied. "They were no help in what I was looking for."

"And what was Washington Davidson looking for that he needed North Dakota and York Whateverthefuck to help him?"

"Do you really not know York's last name?"

"Do you?"

Wash raised an eyebrow at Tucker, who shrugged in reply. "Are you really asking if I know my best friend's last name?"

"Yes."

"Yes, I know his last name."

"What is it?"

"Apparently it's Whateverthefuck."

Tucker burst out laughing at the shitty joke, taking pleasure in knowing he had Wash backed up in a corner. "So, you really don't know what it is, do you?"

Wash rolled his eyes and shook his head. "It's Harris."

Tucker pushed himself up onto his elbows and tried to bite back another laugh. "Harris? His name is York Harris? Jesus, no wonder he never tells anyone his full name, that's just painful."

"But Washington Davidson is alright?"

"No, it's terrible, but I love you, so I have to accept that I'm stuck living with your awful name."

Wash pulled a face, pulling Tucker back down to his side. "How would you feel about making your name as awful as mine?" he asked. "Lavernius Davidson, hmm? How bad is that?"

"Ugh, the worst," Tucker replied. "Why can't you be Washington Tucker?"

"I'm sorry, but that makes me sound like a drag queen or something. No one should suffer with a last name like Tucker."

"But that's what I am, a Tucker!"

Wash burst out laughing and couldn't contain the sound. Tucker sighed and patted his lover's arm. "Yeah, yeah, I heard it," he pouted. "You can shut up now."

"You wouldn't have that problem if your last name was Davidson," Wash stated.

Tucker raised an eyebrow, turning his face to Wash. "You're really pushing for me to be a Davidson," he commented. "Is there something you want to tell me?"

Wash let out a long sigh, choosing his words carefully. "We've been together for five years now," he started, gauging Tucker's reaction. All he got was an encouraging nod. "Don't you think we should move on to the next step?"

Tucker swallowed hard, going rigid in Wash's arm. It wasn't like Wash hadn't expected the reaction, his friends had commented on Tucker's relationship issues, and Wash had spent so much time assuring Tucker he wasn't leaving him, but it made him freak out, the hesitation. Tucker didn't like to talk about marriage, it freaked him out too much, but Wash was determined.

"I guess it is time to start talking about it," Tucker finally replied. "It _has_ been five years, and you're the father of my two children."

"So you're okay with getting married."

In lieu of attempting to shrug again, Tucker tilted his head. "I'm open to discussion," he replied. "Perhaps seeing a counselor or something. Besides, Junior's been asking questions about why we aren't married, and if that means we aren't a real family. He's too curious for his own good."

Wash kissed Tucker and shifted so they were both fully laying down. "Alright, so tomorrow, we have a proper conversation about marriage. For now, we sleep."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is slowly just becoming a Tuckington fic and I'm not sure how I feel about this XD If anyone has any ideas for future chapters, I'm open to ideas


	7. Chapter 7

Wash hadn't stepped foot in the blue house since Tucker moved out, the last box being removed was the last time he'd been in there. It felt strange, being back there, but it was for Caboose, so he had come.  Church and Tucker were with him, of course, and Donut had taken it upon himself to show up for the big day, though Tex chose to stay home with the kids. Apparently, Omega cried a lot at night, something Alpha and Beta hadn't done, and she wasn't used to long, sleepless nights. Wash could sympathize, Epsilon was a pretty fussy baby at night, so he slept in the bedroom with him and Tucker.

Caboose came down from his room dressed in his best clothes. They looked a little ragged, and there were more than a few wrinkles, but there was still time to fix that, along with his unruly blonde hair.

"Looking good!" Donut exclaimed when he saw his friend. "What's the special occasion?"

"I have a date!" Caboose declared, clapping his hands together a little harder than was necessary, but that's how he was when he was excited. "Her name is Sheila and she is a very pretty lady. Also very nice."

"Good for you!"

Wash couldn't help but smile. He didn't care what anyone else said, Caboose was a good guy and deserved to be happy. "You'll need to iron your clothes before your date," Wash said. The two of them had been working on household chores; ironing was proving to be a bit difficult, as Caboose was constantly burning himself, but he was learning, and that was what mattered. Cooking, well, Wash was probably most afraid about that.

He hadn't been around for the accident that left him with brain damage, but the others hadn't done a damn thing to help him adjust to life without anyone around to help. Apparently, Tucker and Church just did things for him, too impatient to actually try and teach him. It was a good thing Wash had an almost unlimited amount of patience, as he was the only one who took it upon himself to actually try to help Caboose relearn how to be a functioning adult.

"Caboose can't be trusted with an iron," Church scoffed. Tucker didn't speak up, but he, too, looked a bit skeptical, though not as much. He'd seen first hand the progress he'd made.

"I want to iron them myself!" Caboose insisted. "It feels good when I do it because it warms my hands."

Wash chuckled at the statement, adjusting his collar. "Think you can get ready without me tonight?" he asked. He felt the weight of the small box in his pocket and knew there was no way he'd be able to help Caboose get ready for his date.

"I'll help out if you need," Donut promised, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Sounds good," Wash said, moving toward the door. "Tucker, ready to go?" The younger man nodded and stood, moving to follow his boyfriend out of the house he once occupied for years.

Once outside, Tucker spoke. "I can't believe Caboose has a date," he commented, though the usual mocking tone was missing from his tone. Was there a hint of jealousy to his voice? That couldn't be right. Wash raised an eyebrow at him.

"You feeling alright?" he asked cautiously, trying not to prod too hard. He knew that if he did, Tucker would snap at him, and that never ended well. The last time they'd had a major fight, Junior was still a baby, and they were fighting about how to raise him. That alone had almost ended their now five year relationship. Thankfully, things were going much smoother with Epsilon.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Tucker replied, shooting him a quick smile, but Wash knew that look anywhere.

"Tucker," he said sternly, hoping that would be enough to get some information out of him. He knew it worked when Tucker let out a sigh.

"Fine, I might be a bit jealous," he admitted. Knowing that didn't make the shock of the admission any less intense, and Wash raised a curious eyebrow at him, begging for more information. "It's just...we haven't been out on a date in years now."

Oh.

_Oh._

"I mean, even once Junior was born, we always found a way to go out," Tucker added. "Someone was always willing to watch him for us. I don't even remember when we stopped, it's just, one day I realized we hadn't had a day all to ourselves, just the two of us. I miss going out and trying something new with you."

Like new food, or dancing, or that one time they went skydiving. That was a fucking trip.

"How about tonight then?" Wash asked. "Junior and Epsilon will be at the Red House tonight, we can go out somewhere after dinner."

"That reminds me, what is so special about tonight?" Tucker asked. It was his turn to look confused as he went through a mental list of all the important dates he could think of. It wasn't anyone's birthday, and he was positive it wasn't their anniversary, so what could it be?

"Can't I just do something nice for you?" Wash asked. "You're not the only one that noticed we haven't really had time alone for a long time."  _I just didn't think you wanted to go_ out _is all._

Tucker smiled at him, looking a bit tired, but he always looked like that lately. Having two children and a full-time job wasn't easy. "Alright, after dinner, we're doing something."

"Good," Wash replied and pressed a kiss to his lips.

\-----

"I just don't understand why I'm the only one actually taking care of Gamma," Florida huffed. Wyoming flinched slightly. Ever since Gamma had come to them, their relationship had been rocky, both of them toeing a fine line between civil and all out war. They were trying to be cautious, neither trying to upset the other.

"I don't know how to take care of kids, Love," Wyoming replied, hiding behind his newspaper. Florida was pissed, that much was certain. Once Gamma started grabbing, Florida had cut his long hair off, opting for a short cut that neither of them particularly cared for. He hadn't smiled as much as he used to, either.

The baby should have been laughing and giggling, but he spent most of his time crying or silent, feeling the tension in the air. At that exact moment, he burst out into wails again, wanting away from the hostility.

Florida shushed him in a strange cooing voice Wyoming didn't know he could muster up and walked into the living room to lay him on his back. Maybe a little bit of play time would calm him down.

Wyoming noted how exhausted his lover looked. He hadn't noticed, hadn't really take the time to look, but he had dark circles under his eyes from a lack of sleep. Gamma didn't do well on his own at night, crying whenever he was alone in his room, but he quieted when Florida was there. It was to the point of Florida putting a mattress in the room and sleeping beside Gamma's crib. But even then he only got a few glorious hours of sleep before Gamma needed changing, or work called him, or something else. Before the baby came, Florida's work calling at odd hours didn't affect him much, but now it served to only hinder his already decreasing health.

But Wyoming couldn't stop himself from defending his decision. Florida was a natural with Gamma, much better than he himself was. Wyoming hadn't been exposed to kids when he was younger, being an only child and living in a neighborhood full of older people. Florida had endless patience it seemed, at least where kids were concerned, and did his best for the baby.

Perhaps, though, Wyoming shouldn't have dumped all of the responsibility on Florida's shoulders. He'd spent more time working at home than in the office, and that was adding even more stress onto Florida's already hefty stress load.

Gamma didn't quiet down until Florida showed him his favorite stuffed toy, a white plushy sheep named Gary. Gamma giggled and Florida froze.

Did Gamma really just giggle?

Holy shit, Gamma just giggled!

Florida beamed down at the baby, who smiled back and reached for his toy. Florida couldn't help the laugh of relief that escaped his lips.

His problem wasn't with Gamma, he loved Gamma, even if he was a bit of a handful. No, his issues laid solely with Wyoming, who had taken up the role of dead-beat dad quite well.

Speaking of which, Florida looked over his shoulder to find Wyoming still brooding at the table, reading his stupid paper. His shoulders fell as he returned his attention to their son, trying to force the smile back onto his face, for Gamma's sake. He didn't want to ruin the moment because Wyoming wasn't with them, choosing to read over being with his family.

Once Gamma was properly distracted with his toy, Florida pulled out his phone and shot off a text to Tucker and Wash. He loved group chats so much, he could talk to both of them at the same time if they weren't together.

_Are you guys busy? I could use some help_

It wasn't urgent, per se, but he did want some advice sooner, rather than later. He didn't want to touch on a sore subject, he knew that the two of them had had their difficulties early on in their relationship, and he didn't want to open old wounds. Tucker hadn't adjusted well to being in a relationship with a man and expecting a child, and he often lashed out. He hoped nothing like that would happen with Wyoming, the man was never afraid of his sexuality, but it seemed he was afraid of something else.

They never expected to have children, never _wanted_ to have children, but now that one was there, they didn't know what to do, how to cope. Neither one of them was fit to be a parent, neither one of them trained for it. It was tearing them apart.

Much like Junior had with Wash and Tucker.

Okay, so maybe that wasn't entirely true. Both of them had loved the boy with all their hearts, and neither one really wanted to leave, but their conflicting parenting philosophies had almost ended their relationship. They'd gone to couple's counseling together and finally found a way to make things work for them.

Florida loved Wyoming, he wasn't just saying that. He never used that word lightly. He couldn't imagine life without the older man, and admittedly, couldn't imagine life without Gamma now, but things were only going to get worse if they didn't find some way to make things work. Gamma was the one suffering the most out of all of them, as his lack of emotional development proved. It wasn't good for him to still rely on Florida so much.

_Tucker: Sorry, we're about to have date night. How bad is it?_

_Not bad, just wanted some advice is all. It can wait until after date night, though. Have fun, kiddos!_

He looked out the window to note the time, the sun having long since set below the horizon. He looked down at Gamma and Gary before he hefted them both into his arms, pressing kisses to the baby's cheek, and took him to the nursery. At first, Gamma attempted to protest, but when his cries of outrage stopped, Florida pressed Gary back into his tiny hands and sang him to sleep. It was a long process, but it eventually worked, fatigue winning out.

Florida wished he could succumb to his own fatigue, but he knew he couldn't, not yet. He let out a long sigh as he approached Wyoming, who lowered his paper finally. The younger man slipped into the chair opposite him, his eyes refusing to meet his lover's for several long minutes as he tried to find his bearings. He needed to have this talk, one way or another.

"We need to talk this out," he finally announced. "I can't keep doing this on my own. I don't care what it takes, whether it's going to these classes, or going to therapy, but we need to figure something out. We're supposed to be a team and we're just  _not!_ " He hadn't noticed the angry tears that fell from his eyes until they fell against his bare hand. At least Wyoming had the decency to convey that he was upset and sorry, even if it was just through his facial expression.

"I know, Love. Whatever you want to do, we'll do."

\-----

"Tucker, how do you feel about us getting married?" Wash's question came as a shock to Tucker, whose head snapped up to look at his boyfriend, eyebrow raised.

"I haven't really thought about it," he replied, taking the offered glass of wine.

"Really?" Wash asked. "It's not like this is the first time I've asked."

"Okay, so I haven't thought about it _more._ Why are you asking?"

Wash shrugged as he sat down, trying to act casual. In truth, he was freaking out beyond belief, wondering if now was the right time. The weight in his pocket felt too heavy, like it was actually the weight of the world, and it kind of was. The weight of  _his_ world.

"Just thought it might be a good idea to solidify things a bit," he answered. "Plus, there's all kinds of benefits to getting married."

"Yeah, that's true," Tucker replied. "You'd finally be next of kin, for one. And you'd get all of my stuff when I die."

"Were you _expecting_ to die or something?"

Tucker nudged Wash's leg with his foot, pouting at him. "You know what I mean!" Wash chuckled at his antics. "Anyway, I guess I wouldn't mind getting married," he admitted. "I'm pretty sure we're at that place."

"I've been at that place for a while, but thanks for noticing," Wash stated with a chuckle. Tucker flushed in embarrassment, turning his eyes down.

"Yeah, I know," he replied. "Sorry you have to put up with my shit."

Wash's eyes softened and he reached out to take his boyfriend's hand. "I'm not the only one putting up with bullshit," he said, lacing their fingers together. "You've put up with my shit just as much."

"Yeah, well...your shit is different."

"It's not a competition."

"I wasn't trying to make it one." Tucker sighed softly and turned his attention to his food, taking a sip of the wine offered to him earlier. "Anyway, I guess I'm ready to get married, after five years. It's pretty clear you aren't leaving."

Wash smiled and pressed their lips together. "Well, I have something for you," he said when he pulled away, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out the ring box and opened it, presenting Tucker with the ring he'd picked, now with everyone's birth stones set inside. "I'd ask you if you'd marry me again, but you already answered that question," he joked.

Tucker stopped breathing for a few moments as he took in the sight. How could they afford that kind of ring? He knew they weren't in any kind of financial trouble, but it still looked expensive as fuck. He reached out to take the box, but Wash pulled it away, slipping the ring onto his finger. "Perfect fit," he commented as Tucker began to examine it much closer.

"Why did you pick these colors?" Tucker asked, looking at the clashing colors.

"They're our birthstones," Wash answered. "Yours is the biggest, then mine, then the kids'." At first, Wash thought he'd fucked up, but when he saw Tucker was on the edge of tears, he knew he'd done good.

"Wash," he choked out, and it must have been one of his emotional days because Tucker not only started crying, but he flung himself into Wash's lap and started trying to talk through his tears, which didn't work in any way.

"I love you," he finally choked out. "I love you so much."

"I love you, too," Wash said, pressing a kiss to Tucker's forehead.

\-----

Florida rested on the side of the bed,  _his_ side of the bed, trying to sleep, but also counting down the minutes until Gamma was awake again. When Wyoming had tried to cuddle up with him, he had nudged him away, telling him to get back on his side of the bed. After their long discussion, Florida was so emotionally drained and done for the night that he didn't want to have any kind of physical contact. The only reason he was sleeping in their room at all was the fact that Wyoming had begged him.

_Tucker and Wash were in a situation like this and they worked their problems out_ he thought to himself.  _Surely Wy and I can do the same._

But their relationship had a dramatically different foundation. Not only were they expecting a baby, and eventually  _had_ the baby, but their focus had been on having a family and maintaining it. His and Wyoming's foundation was a mutual set of kinks and a mutual hatred of other people. It wasn't what most couples based their relationships on, but it worked for them.

Until Gamma came along. It was like Florida had to be two different people to maintain some level of sanity with the two of them in his life, and he was losing his mind. But he couldn't bear to lose either of them. He loved them both so much.

So he would wait and see. He would wait to see if therapy helped, and if not, well, he would cross that bridge when he got there. For now, he needed to sleep, so he closed his eyes and drifted away.


	8. Chapter 8

The night sky was alive with bright colors as fireworks burst and boomed, painting the sky with life. Unfortunately, Lopez was not enjoying the show, tired from a long day's work and just wanted to go to bed. The noise was fine until he was actually in bed, tossing and turning in an attempt to get comfortable, trying to ignore the noise outside and failing miserably.

The door opened and closed softly just as another firework went off and Lopez flinched, covering his head with his blankets in another effort to drown out the noise. He hated fireworks and he hated that they always went off so late at night. He heard a pair of feet approach the bed, but didn't bother to look and see who it was. There was only one person who ever entered his room this late at night, usually to escape their own shitty room that was always too hot. The bed sunk down as a body sat down beside him, placing a comforting hand on the top of his head.

"If it's too loud up here, I'm sure Sarge will let you crash on the couch in the basement," a reassuring voice said. Lopez just grunted and finally pushed the sheets away from his face.

He took in Donut's tired smile, still bright as always regardless of the ungodly hour. He shook his head in reply. Sarge was an insufferable man and Lopez avoided his domain in the basement as much as humanly possible.

" _Is your room too hot?_ ” he asked.

“My room is always too hot,” Donut laughed. “Unless it’s winter, then it’s always too cold.”

“ _What are you doing up?_ ”

Donut shrugged. “I couldn’t sleep,” he answered. “Isn’t that why you’re up, too?”

Lopez pointed to the window behind him as the fireworks finale began and Donut nodded in understanding. “So it’s just the noise then? Nothing else?”

“ _What else could it be?_ ” Lopez asked, his brows knitting together in confusion.

“Oh, I don’t know, perhaps your dad and step-mom?” Donut supplied, and Lopez made a noise of distress, throwing the covers back over his head.

“ _Don't’ mention them,_ ” he begged.

“If we don’t talk about this, you’ll just keep getting angrier and angrier,” Donut pointed out. “It’s not healthy to bottle up your emotions.”

“Don’t!” It wasn’t often Lopez said anything in english, usually to make a point, letting Donut know he’d hit a nerve. The blonde man let out a disappointed sigh and made a move to stand, heading to his own room. The only thing keeping him from leaving was Lopez’s hand tightening around his wrist, freezing the other man in place.

Lopez had had plans to ask Donut out, he really had, but just as he had gotten the backbone to do it, he had received a call from his step-mom. She was pregnant and going to have a child. She had sounded pretty happy, but Lopez was skeptical. She’d never shown the potential to be a good mom, and his dad had been damn awful at raising Lopez. The call had ended with screaming and Lopez hanging up the phone on her, and he hadn’t heard from them since.

After that incident, he didn’t think he could do it anymore. He couldn’t ask Donut out, not after he’d seen Lopez in such a horrible light.

“Do you want me to stay?” The question was soft, kind, almost loving. Lopez couldn’t look Donut in the eye, but nodded in reply. When Lopez finally looked up, Donut was smiling at him again and detached himself from Lopez, walking over to the dresser and pulling out some clothes to change into. He’d slowly been moving some clothes into Lopez’s room, since he spent so many nights there.

Lopez watched each of his movements with keen eyes. Donut discarded his clothes on the ground, too tired to try and put them away, kicking them into a small pile before climbing onto the bed. Lopez had started to drift into slumber by then, so the blonde crawled over to him and wrapped an arm around him, burying his face in his neck.

It seemed like the noise from earlier wouldn’t return and the night would be peaceful, the crowds having dispersed and gone home for the night. Everything was still as the city fell into slumber.

Of course, all good things must come to an end, and the two men were startled awake when Lopez’s phone blared, having forgotten to turn the ringtone down. Lopez grabbed the offending device and looked at the number. It wasn’t anyone in his contacts. He was about to send it to voicemail when Donut grabbed it from him and answered.

“Hello to whoever thought it was a good idea to wake me up at two in the morning!” he said cheerily, though his voice had an undertone of murder that reminded Lopez of Florida.

“I’m very sorry to call at such a late hour,” the woman on the other side apologized. “Is Lopez available to speak?”

“Who’s asking?” Donut replied.

“Oh, yes, I’m sorry,” she apologized again. “I’m with Child Protective Services calling on behalf of Lorenzo, his half-brother.”

Donut sat up in bed, fully awake now. “What happened to Lorenzo?” he asked, the name grabbing Lopez’s attention. He reached for the phone, but Donut batted his hand away.

“I’m afraid I can’t disclose that information to anyone but Lopez.”

Donut hesitated before handing the phone over. “Hello?” Lopez answered.

“Mr. Lopez? Hello, I’m calling on behalf of your little brother, Lorenzo. We have removed him from his home due to malnourishment and neglect and you are next of kin.” Lopez couldn’t understand anything else the woman said, lost in his own thoughts. His little brother had been removed from the care of his parents?

Donut took the phone back from him and began talking to the woman. His voice took on an edge as he began to argue with her, the words “I’m his boyfriend, why can’t you talk to me?” tumbling from his lips. Lopez couldn’t process anything.

“Can we see him?” Donut asked, and that’s when Lopez came back to his senses. He watched as Donut opened a drawer in the nightstand and grabbed a pen and paper, writing something down on it. “Okay, thank you.”

“ _What did she say?_ ” Lopez asked as soon as Donut hung up the phone.

“We can go see him,” Donut explained and handed him the paper. “That’s the address. They’re feeding him right now.”

Lopez looked at the address on the paper in front of him, his mind wandering to his little brother. He barely registered getting up from the bed and changing his clothes, barely registered Donut leading him outside into the cold night air, and failed to register being in the car, driving away from the Red House. Maybe it was shock, or fatigue, but he couldn’t make sense of what was going on, couldn’t sort out his thoughts. His little brother…

He was brought out of his thoughts when he felt something warm in his hand, wrapping around it in a comforting way. He had to look down at his hand to see what it was, to comprehend, but when he did, he felt a relief wash over him that he never had before. Donut had taken his hand and was smiling at him with that smile that promised everything would be alright, and wasn’t that the kind of reassurance Lopez needed at that moment? He threaded their fingers together and did his best to return the warm smile.

The drive was silent, tense, and on a couple occasions, Donut got lost from being so concentrated on multiple things at once he missed his turn. With each missed turn their grip on each other’s hands got tighter to the point where their knuckles were white.

Due to the time of night, they were able to get a good spot in the parking lot. It wasn’t very reassuring, in fact, it put them even more on edge. When they approached the door, someone was waiting for them and quickly ushered them inside.

Lopez had never seen his brother before. It had been eight months since the baby’s birth, but not once had he gone to see him. Perhaps he would have if he didn’t have such a horrible relationship with his father and step-mother, but he did, and he avoided them like the plague. Now, however, he was beginning to regret that.

Lorenzo had a thick head of honey-brown hair that he was messing up with this little hands. He looked up with confused sapphire eyes to look at the man now standing above him, a man that looked so much like his father, but so different at the same time. Confused, Lorenzo made a soft grunting noise and reached out for his brother.

Hesitantly, Lopez reached down into the crib and pulled him out, bringing him to his chest. Lorenzo attempted to fist Lopez’s shirt to chew on it, but his onesie had covered hands, so grasping wasn’t easy. Instead, Lorenzo just started chewing on Lopez’s shoulder, slobbering everywhere.

“Aw, look, he’s so cute,” Donut cooed, taking one of the baby’s hands and playing with it. Lorenzo looked up at him with curious eyes and laughed, waving a hand at him.

"We have some papers that need to be filled out," the woman that called earlier said, urgency in her voice. "The sooner we get this done, the sooner you can go home with him."

Lopez nodded and handed Lorenzo over to Donut, who gladly took him and started playing with him.

Lorenzo was a fairly reserved baby. Even though he giggled softly, he didn't seem to want to play, and even seemed confused by the attention and affection being shown to him. Donut pulled the toy away, a stuffed monkey, and looked down at Lorenzo in concern.

"What's wrong?" he asked, mustering up his best cooing voice. "Come on, it's fun!" He waved the toy around again, but instead of more cooing and giggling, Lorenzo burst out crying.

"Hey, why are you crying?" Donut asked, his words rushed as he pulled the baby back into his grasp, patting his back gently in a soothing manner. Lorenzo beat against Donut's shoulder with his little fists, which Donut had to admit, kinda hurt. When the baby wasn't calming down, Donut placed him back into the crib and sat beside it, rubbing his stomach softly as he waited for the baby to stop crying. What else could he do?

"I'm sure this is a shock to you," the case worker commented once she and Lopez were sitting in her office. "I know this isn't the ideal situation, but it was so sudden."

" _How did this happen?"_ Lopez asked.

 _"_ Oh, you speak Spanish," she commented. "Uh, yes, well, we're not entirely sure of how this happened," she answered when she regained her composure. "We got a call from a concerned neighbor that Lorenzo had been crying for hours and they didn't see the parents going to tend to him. In fact, they said they saw them leave and not return for several hours. They were just returning when we arrived to take the child."

" _Is there anything I need to be concerned about?"_ Lopez asked as he looked over the paperwork.

"He's underweight and seems to be late for some of his developmental milestones, and he seems scared by attention, but I think that can call be remedied with lots of affection and nurturing."

Lopez nodded and signed the papers before him. Nothing was set in stone yet, but he was at least able to take Lorenzo home and make proper arrangements. Attempt to get the baby adjusted.

And so he stood up, shook the case worker's hand, and headed back out to find Donut and Lorenzo. When he found them, Lorenzo was fast asleep again and Donut was barely keeping his eyes open, leaning against the crib's bars, hand slipping out from between them. Another worker handed a baby carrier to Lopez, who softly shook Donut awake and carefully picked the baby up to strap him into the seat.

Donut fell asleep in the car on the way home. There was still a tenseness in the air, but there was something about the ride back that was different from earlier. Looking between Donut and Lorenzo, Lopez couldn't stop himself from thinking about how they felt like a family, the ones in all the movies that he never thought he'd have. A beautiful partner, a baby they would raise together. For a moment, just a moment, it felt pretty perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I put Lopez's lines in italics to show that he's speaking Spanish because I thought it felt more natural than trying to find a way to translate what other characters should understand so that the readers can understand as well.


End file.
